Administration Sends Farm Bill to Congress

May 5, 2000

The Clinton Administration has crafted what basically is a new farm bill for congressional consideration. Although it follows several proposals being talked about in agricultural circles, it’s doubtful at best it will be considered by the current Congress. And next year, when a new Congress is sworn into office, a new administration probably will have its own farm bill proposal to Capitol Hill for consideration.

Highlighting the proposal is a proposed supplemental income assistance payment program for farmers when gross income for a crop declines below 92% of the preceding five-year average. The milk price support program would be extended to 2002.

Several conservation initiatives were included: expanding the Conservation Reserve Program to 40 million acres; implementing a $600 million Conservation Security Program to provide payments to farmers and ranchers who implement certain conservation practices; limiting annual enrollment in the Wetland Reserve Program to 250,000 acres; increasing funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to $325 million a year; reauthorizing the Farmland Protection Program at $65 million annually, and providing $50 million a year to reauthorize the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.

The legislation also includes a section on crop insurance reform. It would significantly discount premiums, address losses in multiple years, establish a livestock pilot insurance program, provide more funding for research and development, modify the area-wide trigger on non-insured assistance payments and require crop insurance coverage to participate in other programs.

Annual funding authorization is proposed of $15 million, through fiscal year 2008, for rural communities previously designated as empowerment zones and enterprise communities, and $80 million is proposed in fiscal 2001 and $50 million in 2002 for capital equity for new livestock and other processing cooperatives.